What methods of contraception were used in the ancient imperial palace?

In ancient times, there was also a problem of contraception in the palace. In many cases, for the sake of the country or because of internal fighting in the harem, some contraceptive methods were often used to prevent some concubines from getting pregnant. Moreover, the maids in the harem were also very averse to causing chaos in the harem, so naturally they needed to find ways to prevent pregnancy. The technology in ancient times was not as advanced as it is today, so what methods did the ancient royal palace use for contraception?

The first one is to use the “Lao Du Patch”.

This secret recipe is to put musk on a woman's belly button to achieve the function of contraception. There are historical records of the two sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede in the Han Dynasty taking such contraceptive measures. However, the secret recipe of this "Lao Du Tie" has been lost.

The second method is to use "saffron cleaning solution" to clean.

There was a record in historical materials that saffron was the most effective contraceptive secret in the palace. If the emperor did not like a favored palace maid, he would ask the eunuchs to hang the maid upside down and wash her lower body with liquid made from crushed saffron. It is said that this can cleanse the semen in the palace maid's body completely.

The third method is to use "massage technique".

The emperor has many concubines, and he can keep them or not. If the emperor said he didn't want to keep the semen after favoring a concubine, the eunuch would use massage techniques to ensure that the emperor's semen flowed out and absolutely could not remain in the concubine's body, thus achieving the effect of contraception.

The fourth method is to drink "cold medicine".

"Liangyao" is a contraceptive decoction containing musk. This decoction not only has the effect of contraception, but also has the function of inducing abortion. After Cixi entered the palace and was favored by Emperor Xianfeng, her first pregnancy was aborted by someone using musk.

The fifth method is to use “condoms”.

Early "condoms" were made from sheep intestines or pig bladders. According to historical records, the "condoms" used in Western medieval courts were animal intestine casings, and they also had a nice name, called "Dutch caps."

Through the above introduction, everyone is very clear about the contraceptive methods used in the ancient royal palace. From the above methods, we can see that some contraceptive measures still have health risks, especially for women who are in poor physical condition. There will be more health risks. However, in order to prevent pregnancy, they can only endure such pain.